#like what are they gonna bring back all the other avengers characters whose actors are done too like?????

[caatws]

I am the same Anon who wrote the death of an author comment. I am not saying that disliking Gamora's treatment is wrong, I very much agree that she hasnt been used to her full potential, and I agree this does affect people who see themselves in Gamora and the other characters. What I am saying is that, especially since Gunn is not working at Marvel again, we shouldnt take every single thing he says as a fact, especially if he didnt write it in the script, which something thats stands on its own without his commentary or tweets, Marvel owns the script...nothing else. Whether he thinks Gamora and Peter belong together or not, we shouldnt take that as a Marvel is never gonna get them together again and is 100% definite just because HE thinks so. I am not gonna get into the debate on if he means at this very moment or permanently, but Marvel can very much do whatever they want as long as it doesnt contradict what is being settled in stone in previous movies/tv shows, and nothing said in the movie nor written in the script works in against any of the ideas on whether she can be close to the guardians nor Peter again. If a director/writer wants to bring them back together and both Zoe and Chris are willing to return then it can happen because its not settled by a word in the writing that "they are never meant to be together", that is just Gunn's interpretation and, again, Marvel can very much go against that statement in the future if they wish to do so. This doesnt just apply to the romance part but also to the how she feels towards the guardians and ravagers as a whole. While it is obvious that she sees the ravagers as a family maybe one day it is stated that she sees guardians as an equal family of some sort, as an example. My point is that everybody is focusing a bit too much on what Gunn thinks/says in respect to the characters and the movie when he is not in charge anymore and Marvel couldnt give a shit on what he thinks outside of the movie itself.

but i've Been saying this is his personal interpretation of his open ending this whole time tho, not that gunn had any say in or control over the future of canon 😭 like i've literally been saying "this seems to be gunn's intention/interpretation and i disagree with it". where in that is me treating his word as canon 😭😭😭

further, if you read thru some of my older asks on this whole topic, i've also been saying (for weeks bc ppl seem to keep forgetting!!!) that i don't even think there's a future to even debate over bc the gotg are literally done. like contracts are up ppl are moving on like WE HAVE KNOWNNNN FOR YEARSSSSS that vol 3 was the end. like idk where y'all were during the vol 2/iw era of gotg fandom, but i remember talking abt the fact that vol 3 was gonna be the end all the way back then. WHY ARE WE STILL STUCK ON THIS 😭

just bc actors are "open to being asked back" doesn't mean it's gonna happen (and again they'll have to get in line cuz...just look at allllllllll the characters from phase 4 and onward who have yet to even cross over once yet), so i'm not commenting on the treatment of gamora or starmora etc as something that could or couldn't even change in the future bc personally, i don't even expect to see a future project with this particular gotg lineup in general, regardless, so literally none of my opinions on gunn's commentary are weighing his words as heavily as a decider of future canon. bc there is no future canon for him or anyone to decide for most of the characters. bc gotg is done lol

[chaoticpete]

Our lives is a movie?

Peter Parker x reader...I think, Avengers x reader, Tom Holland x Reader (if ya squint)

Warnings: none

What would it be like if the team found out they were just a movie series in our world?

A/n: This is just an idea I had like last year, will probably end up rewriting it, well at least the end, hope you guys still enjoy it though!

“Oh come on! I was so close to an almost perfect winning streak!” You yell at Bucky. Tossing the controller beside you, you cross your arms and start pouting as your Yoshi finally crosses over the finish line.

“Guess I’m just better.” He replies with a smug smirk. “Is that why I beat you the first three games.” It’s your turn to smirk when he glares at you. An alarm starts going off through the tower. A code red. Someone is inside the tower. You wave your hand and your suit appears on.

“FRIDAY! Where’s the intruder?” Tony asks, running into the room, Nat and Wanda following behind. “They’re trying to get into the plans vault, sir.”

“L/N would you mind pulling up a portal?” You make one leading to the vault. “Why of course Papa Stark!” Tony summons a suit and the rest of you jump through your portal seeing a blue man trying to get past the actual vault.

“Hey, Smurf! Who do you think you are?” You ask, throwing a mini explosive his way. He jumps out of way throwing back a disk towards you guys that set off a bright light.

Then he sent another one.

“Void! Look out!” Peter says pushing you out of the way the same time you made another portal causing it to mix with the blue guy’s device.

Before anyone else in the team could do anything the guy was gone, and so were you and Peter.

You land landing on your face. “Ow...I really don’t get paid enough for this.” You grumble as you get back up and brush off your clothes. You notice a golden disk by you. It’s the one the guy threw.

Picking it up and slipping it into your suit, you begin looking around you, you see lots of people walking around some talking other carrying items. “Where the hell am I?” You say starting to walk around.

When you spotted some familiar brown curls. “Peter!” You say running towards the boy and pulling him into a hug. “Ugh, I have absolutely no idea whe- when you change your clothes?” You ask actually getting a good look at him.

‘Peter’ looks at you confused. “When did I change my clothes? Darling, I think the real question is what are you wearing and who are you?” He says in a British accent.

Before either of you can say anything else ANOTHER Peter runs up to you. “Y/n!” “Peter?!” You say back pulling this one in a hug.

“Are you okay?” “Yeah. But when I came out of that portal this woman automatically started coming at me saying that “I needed to get ready for the next scene” and “I needed a touch up” THEN SHE TRIED TO UNDRESS ME! I ran so fast.”

Quickly remembering the other Peter you step back from that Peter and look between the two. Peter looks over at the next person, who he saw...was him. “Holy shit!” He says jumping closer to you.

“Y/n, what is happening?” “I don’t know but I don’t like it. Do you think this is Loki’s doing?” “No, no.” He's on that time mission, remember.” “She.” “Oh yeah.”

The fake Peter looked just as confused as the both of you. “I feel like I should be calling security, but it’s not every day you meet someone who looks, exactly like you.” He says staring at Peter.

“Whoa, you’re British?!” Peter askes shocked at the accident. “Would it help better if I talked like this?” He asked now in an American accent.

He sounded just like Peter.

Both your and Peter’s eyes open wide. “Noooo.” You both say. “You both already look very much alike. Don’t you guys talk alike also?”

A loud bell rings and you and Peter automatically jump into your fighting stances. “Shit! Break is just about done.” Fake Peter says panicking a bit.

“Uh, okay follow me. You guys can stay in my trailer till I’m done for the day then when you get to the hotel we can figure this out.” He says starting to walk towards the trailers.

He goes to one labeled “Peter Parker” and opens the door. “You guys can wait till I’m done. Please, don’t let anyone in. I have a key so I’ll just lock it. Um, there are some snacks in the cupboard, water in the fridge, and feel free to watch anything on the tele. Even got youtube!” He yelled before closing the door.

“...did you catch any of that?” “Nope.”

Turning on the tv, you see the date. “February 16, 2021. What the hell is Covid-19-“

You get cut off by someone trying to open the door. “Fucking div locked the door again. And left the tele on.” You hear a voice mumble on the other side before walking off.

“N/n look at this,” Peter says flipping through pages of paper.

“What is it?” “It’s a script. For a “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” He says looking at the first page. “It has everyone in here. Aunt May, Mj, Ned even that European trip we went on.” “Wait what?” You ask, looking over his shoulder.

“Dude...where the hell are we.”

Hours passed and before you know it you hear the trailer door unlocking. Sitting up in the bed you see the fake Peter (whose name you learned was Tom) walking in looking tired.

“Hey. Okay, so before I actually bring you guys back home. Who exactly are you?”

“Well, my name is Peter. Peter Parker. Spider-Man. Um, I’m pretty sure you know me.”

“Yeah kinda. I am...you? Technically...in this universe. Well, one of you. I’ll explain better at the hotel. Oh, I’m Tom by the way. Don’t think I’ve actually introduced myself.” He says chuckling. “And you?” He asks turning your attention to you.

“I’m the actual Y/n. Or Void as my hero name.”

“Y/n huh? Yeah, we don’t have you here.” “Wait what? Really? But I’m Peter’s partner in crime. We’re always getting blamed for everything with the team.” You say pouting.

“Is there at least an actor that looks like me?” “No, I don’t think so darling. Sorry.”

Before anything else can be said there’s another knock on the door. “Tom, are you in there mate? We’re going to go get some pizza.”

“Uh, no thanks I’ll just meet you back at the room. Be safe.” “Who was that?” “My brother, Harry.” “Aww, he has a brother.” “Three actually.” “Awww!”

“Okay it should be safe to get you two out of here but first. Here,” Tom says opening up a kit bag and giving Peter some clothes and you an oversized hoodie. “They might think you’re trying to steal the suit.”

“Oh, and you’ll need these.” He says grabbing a box and handing you each a mask after Peter was done changing.

“Yeah what’s with these?” “We’re in a pandemic?” “Like the plague?” “Ehh, sort of. Now let’s find a way to get you two back home.”

**************************************************************

“So here, we’re all just...comic book characters? There are no avengers? No flying robots? Nothing?”

“Nope. No alien villains. Just regular people who wanna bring harm.” “Huh.”

The three of you were now in Tom’s suite.

“So how did you guys even get here.” “Well, my theory is when the guy threw his little disk thingy, it merged with Y/n powers and made a new portal.”

“But how do you know that’s what it was meant to do?” “It’s the only explanation with how he got into the compound and the vault unnoticed.”

“You guys never thought about that?” “Blame Tony.” You say as Peter hisses and moves back from getting shocked.

“You okay?” You say grabbing his hand to inspect the slight burn. “Yeah, just a sting. It’ll heal in an hour or two.”

“Can you get us back home?” “Yeah, but I’ll need a few supplies.” “Well,” Tom speaks up. “I’m off tomorrow so we can go pick up what you need. You can stay here tonight if you like.”

“Thanks, dude,” Peter says and you nod with him.

“You guys hungry? I can ask Harry to bring back some pizza for us.” “Ohh yes please.” You say bouncing on your toes a bit. “I’m absolutely starving.”

“So Tom you’re an actor right?” “Mhmm.” “And you said you play me?” “Yep.” “And they have the rest of the team?” “Besides me apparently,” you say under your breath.

“Maybe they’ll bring you in soon. The company is starting a new phase so,” Tom says shrugging.

“Do you guys wanna see them?” “How many are there?” “23 movies and more coming out. There's also shows.”

“23 MOVIES ABOUT US?!”

Tom can’t help but laugh at your guy’s reaction. “Yeah, Marvel movies are some of the biggest ones these days. Going on for almost 13 years.”

“How much have you acted in?” “Like five, two solo films, and this one we’re currently filming will make it six. Three solos and three with the actual avengers.”

There was a knock on the door. “Must be Harry with the pizza,” Tom says going to the door. “Why didn’t you just use your key?”

“Cause my hands are full ya div. Why did you get so much food any-“ Harry stops when he sees you and Peter sitting on the couch.

Tom quickly grabs the food from his hands before he can even think about letting it go.

Looking between his brother and his duplicate you couldn’t help but start laughing at his expression.

All three turned to look at you like you completely lost his mind (which I’m sure is exactly how Harry was feeling). “I’m just gonna...nice meeting you guys I guess.” He says walking to what you think is his room before looking back at Tom and Peter causing him to almost walk up into a wall.

“Uh...sorry about that. That’s my little brother Harry, he came along as my assistant.” You and Peter nod. “Well guess we can dig in and watch the movies.”

“I- it was not that dramatic when Mr. Stark took the suit.” “Yes, it was. You could barely talk properly when you called me.”

“I can’t believe they included Flash but not me.”

“Okay, but why is the guy who plays Mysterio kinda hot though.” “Y/n I swear.” “Okay, but am I wrong?!” “...no.”

“Tony’s ego is gonna be ruined if he ever knows they killed him off.”

“Sucks we didn’t have enough time to watch all 23 films. I’m sure it would make more sense.”

And that’s how your night went. You just watched the Spider-Man stand-alone ones before everyone started to crash from the long eventful day. Harry even came out and joined you guys.

After figuring out what was needed and put together his own device, it was time for you guys to go home.

“You guys got everything?” Harry asks as Peter puts the finishing touches. “Yeah, thank you, guys. Really, I don’t know what I and Peter would’ve done if we didn’t end up here.”

“Oh! These are for you.” Tom says handing you a bag. “It’s the whole MCU collection. I saw how much you guys loved the Spider-Man ones and it was confusing since they all interact. Plus, I’m sure the others would wanna see them.”

“As if some of them need an ego boost. Especially Tony and Loki. I’m pretty sure if Loki ever found out he was actually worshipped here he would find a way to get here.”

You go and pull Tom into a hug. “Nice meeting you Peter’s British half. I’ve never really cared for them but eh, I guess I have a little soft spot for two of them now.” You say shooting Harry a wink before placing a kiss on Tom’s cheek and then going to give Harry a hug as Peter says his byes.

“Ready N/n?” “I guess. I just hope we actually end up in our world and not a different one.” You say grabbing Peter's hand as he gets ready to throw the disc.

You both look back at the two Holland brothers. “See you again one day boys.” You say as Peter throws the disc and a portal opens and the two of you jump through it.

The two of you crash to the floor. “Ugh, Peter get off me! You’re skinny but really heavy.”

“Kids!” You both look up to see the team rushing to you guys. “Where did you two go?!”

Getting up from the ground, both tackled with hugs.

“YOu'll never believe us. But we do have the next movie night!” “What are those?” “Movies about us. Avengers! To the theater room!”

Tags:: @tommyunderoos @spideyspeaches @frenchfrostpudding @holland-styles @gwenvrse @allegra-writes @petersgroupie @cherry-hyejin @kitkatd7 @buckys-other-punk

[grilledkatniss]

 JK interview

I’ve seen about a dozen rants about this over the course of the week over on youtube, and then hundreds more on the comments section for each video... ( x  x  x  x fucking etc.

And here’s what I have to say about it

 I understand why some MCU actors would get annoyed at her, coming in with a totally brand new character at this point in the Avengers narrative, with her very OWN ORIGIN STORY, backing up (and backed up by) this trend of strong female characters as the main character in superhero movies.. like just being thrown in PE class’ dodgeball team and everyone just has to stamp a smiley face on whether they like it or not, zero whining. Cause if it was for the sake of making an origin story on a strong ass female character as the main superhero, well they already had Black Widow, and I think her character should've been prioritized, if not for the fact that some people have no clue as to where she came from and what is it that she does (they only know she's the avenger that uses pistols), then because she was introduced first, chronologically speaking (2010 Iron Man 2). But, again, we need to think about the Avengers narrative and where they are in the story. A Black Widow film wouldn't have made a lot of sense to come out right this moment: it would not have made it possible to make any progress at all in the current situation that's happening in the MCU, unless she was gonna be the one to take down Thanos and his golden snappy fingers with her Crossfit kicking and cz99 shooting. No, a standalone Black Widow origin story film should’ve happened at least 5 years ago. The other choice then would've been a full-on Scarlet Witch origin movie: she has more of a chance at beating Thanos and figuring out a way to bring back half the galaxy that's been wiped out off existence, but then we have this tiny itty bitty situation with her being part of that banished half. 

 So, why Captain Marvel now? Is the current MCU narrative part of an actual Marvel comic book where the roll of Carol Danvers is irreplaceable and her actions decisive to the fate of the universe? Or maybe the writers couldn’t find a way to end this Thanos bitch without adding on a brand now hero upon whose shoulders the leadership of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Avengers will just have to rest and there is no way around it i juST DONT.KNOW 

 And apparently, the comic fans aren’t all on the same page with the character itself on whether they like her or not, so like there’s not a single certainty on her favor from the get-go. This was bound to be quite the thin rope for all involved to walk through. 

Comic fans either love the comic character or they hate it. 

Comic fans either love Brie’s Portrayal of the character they either love or hate or they hate it, without taking into consideration all the press and media thunders surrounding her. 

MCU FILM enthusiasts either like the character that’s put in front of them or not. 

MCU FILM FANS will add to the scale literally every little thing that the fictional realm that is the MCU itself has to offer, going from the story that’s being told throughout all the latest Marvel films in a general way, to the fairness in having a new character pop up out of the blue, and the overshadowing of other characters that they’ve grown to love, etc.

INDUSTRY SAVY people will be the ones having to balance all the shady media bullshit surrounding both what the film stands for on its own (and then politically), AND the parties involved (executives, actors, directing team, etc) and their background.  

Brie Larson fans only have to decide whether they like this role of Brie’s or not

Casual moviegoers just have to question whether they liked the film in a more general sense and then consider Brie’s acting. As far as they know, that’s the character.

And then we have the WHITE SUPREMACISTS, who will worry about how against them the actress is, therefore how racist and sexist they consider her to be

 We can play a game: Combine any number of these types of audiences, and I’ll be Dora The Explorer. Can YOU tell me what combination will throw the biggest temper tantrum and try to sabotage how it performs on the box office????!!

 Now, someone with her untamable rep, someone who’s THIS active politically stepping in on Disney’s center ground, Marvel no less, is for sure gonna make some people a bit uneasy (imagine Disney having to cast for the first time Jennifer Lawrence, but TODAY, both JLaw and the industry being what they are now. Hard pitch to make, huh) BUT -I’m trying to find a BUT here but that’s gonna take me a minute.. what was my point?-  Maybe like, give her a shot? Cut her some slack? This kid is NOT a Disney robot and also like being against white supremacy and capitalistic patriarchy is not a bad thing? And also I don’t think she went to Disney's attitude training boot camp like the Jonas Brothers did in their time? 

 That being said, I think Brie is just blatantly honest about who she is and who she wants to be. She's a great actor backing up great causes but wording them terribly.. her social awkwardness shines through first thing due to her putting on some extra work on trying to be charismatic and funny and it winds up blurring the lines and getting all twisted. It saddens me that the poor word choices she made in front of a camera kind of ended up sabotaging her efforts and ruining her image. I personally do find her sense of humor funny and charismatic and think that maybe she’s trying to address the press and, in this case, Jimmy Kimmel as she would her friends, using that same humor, and it just backfired because some white dudes misinterpreted her phrasing and got triggered as fuck.

[ninewheels]

All right, let’s do some Wild Guessing and Drastically Over-Reading this fucking poster because I’ve had an ambien and this is just the kind of person I am.

So, the gradual build of information has led to this as our core cast for Endgame: the Original Six Avengers (this being their swan song, as a group and for most of them as individuals too probably), Rhodey, Nebula, Rocket, and Scott--all the headliners who survived the snap--plus Carol.

Toward the end of the trailer we see Steve, Tony, Nat, Clint, Nebula, Rhodey, and Scott in those white suits, presumably designed for travel in the Quantum Realm based on their similarity to Hank’s suit from Ant-Man and the Wasp, and based on the fact that their party now has a member (Scott) who knows about  the Quantum Realm, previously established to be very wibbly-wobbly and timey-wimey, and therefore possibly useful for our heroes’ almost-certain plan, to save the day by going back in time to stop the snap from happening in the first place. (There’s a million little bits of evidence hinting that it’s time travel, I won’t talk about all the sources.) We don’t see Thor, Bruce/Hulk, and Rocket in those suits, but toybox art leaks reveal all three of them suited up, so we know that happens at some point. We don’t see Carol in that scene at all, and there’s no photo evidence of her putting on a Quantum Suit, so maybe she’s getting through the Quantum Realm with her cosmic space radiation powers, or maybe she’s just not going. Either way, the other 10 characters are suited up and ready to go on some mission that we don’t see any of because, as was mentioned months ago by Feige, the marketing for this film is restricting itself mostly to footage from the first 15 minutes of the film; if we accept the informed guess that the main plot of the film will be the Avengers traveling through space and time to find a way to stop Thanos before the snap happens, the more concrete cut-off point could just be the end of the first act, when the mission actually begins. However exactly it shakes out, it seems pretty certain that this is our core team. That’s our current Avengers lineup, featuring Special Guest Star Party Member Carol to some extent or another.

This is reinforced by the poster. The characters featured on this poster are those 11 heroes, Thanos himself... and one other conspicuous inclusion: Okoye. The original poster featured her on it, but did not list Danai Gurira’s name at the top, an oddity that Marvel was quick to remedy when people started protesting. But for my part, I’m still wondering what it means that she gets to be on the poster, even though only the 12 obvious leads got credited above the title at first. Could her inclusion be a nod to the fact that she is one of only two supporting characters to be shown surviving the snap at the end of Infinity War? It’s just her and M’Baku, although I would not personally think much of him in this context as he is a decidedly less important character than Okoye in the grand scheme of the MCU.

While on the first draft of this poster Danai Gurira’s name was not at the top, it was (and is) listed in the credits at the bottom of the poster. See for yourself: Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, then it lists Bradley Cooper as Rocket, and then “with Gwyneth Paltrow” right before “with Josh Brolin”. First of all, note than Josh Brolin still has the “with” billing he had on the Infinity War poster (where Chris Pratt got the “and” for some baffling reason). Aside from brief archive footage shots from Infinity War of Sam and Wanda dusting away, the characters who have been dusted have been completely absent from marketing so far. Though it’s far from a secret that the dusted characters are going to come back and appear in some form in this film, I think the idea that the marketing is sticking to the first act of the film might be more than just “no footage from after a certain timestamp”, it might actually be an overall philosophy that guides details of what appears on the posters.

Side note: I firmly believe that this film will end with everyone dusted in Infinity War coming back to life in exchange for the sacrifice of some (maybe many) of the surviving characters, based on who Marvel is ready to put to rest for good and willing to let die as opposed to retire from superhero-ing. I subsequently firmly believe that the first portion of the end credits will not only list the actors listed on the poster, but also restore to their Infinity War billing all of the actors whose characters got dusted last time, as a symbolic thing.

Okoye is definitely alive at the end of Infinity War. I’m gonna guess that Shuri is dead because if she isn’t, then Shuri is Queen of Wakanda, and that’s a plot point Marvel doesn’t want to bring up only for it to become a glorified easter egg in a film about completely different things. Meanwhile, Shuri being dead means there is no clear heir to the throne of Wakanda, putting the country in disarray, adding to the Darkest Timeline vibe that Endgame is starting with, and also giving Okoye a pretty compelling reason to not leave Wakanda to help the gang on their mission. Not that I ever thought she was going to be a part of the team, but the question now is why is she important enough to get her face on the poster as a thirteenth-wheel? And why are Pepper, Happy, and Wong important enough to have their actors listed after the headliners in the bottom credits? Could it be that they and Okoye are the only supporting characters still alive in post-snap world? Pepper, Wong, and Okoye would be the only other surviving major characters from Infinity War, and Happy wasn’t in Infinity War but he’s been around a lot since the beginning of the MCU, so he’s still relevant enough. Maybe that’s all there is to it. Maybe these are simply the only other major characters we’re going to see before whatever story cut-off point they’ve picked to dictate the marketing strategy. I definitely don’t think all four are all going to have a lot of screen-time or much to do. That still leaves the mystery of why, out of those four, Okoye was singled out to be on the poster. The most logical theory is also the most boring and cynical, which is that they wanted to add some variety to a mostly-male, almost all-white cast ensemble, and picked the only WOC left for the optics. That said, I would like to think there is a real reason for her to be up there based on the content of her role in the film. I’d like to think Okoye’s going to do at least one plot-relevant thing, but damned if I can figure out what it is. After all, whether Shuri is alive or not, I cannot see her abandoning her post at Wakanda. Maybe she’ll have a beefed up role on the other end of the film when they (will probably) have to revisit the Battle of Wakanda to keep Thanos from snapping.

Final note: I know I’m not the first person to point this out, but this is the first time that Mark Ruffalo has gotten to have his own real face on a main poster. He got a character single for the first Avengers with his own face on it, but every appearance he’s made on the primary poster for a given film has been in Hulk form. As far as I see it, this could be either a case of “let Mark show his real face because this is his last time” OR “Mark has to show his real face because Hulk doesn’t show up until later in the movie”.

[angelearnshaw]

THOR: RAGNAROK- THE PERFECT ENDING

I know most of you have probably seen Thor: Ragnarok by now, but for those of you that haven’t, you should probably go see it while you still can!

I have to say, this is by far, the best Thor movie I’ve seen. And if it happens to be the last, well, I don’t mind (brb crying in a corner). But really. If this is the last Thor movie, it would serve as the perfect ending to the franchise.

I have always been a fan of Thor. No, it’s not because of Chris Hemsworth’s drool- worthy everything. It might be partly because of Tom Hiddleston, but mostly, mostly, it was actually my love for mythologies that made me appreciate it. As a lover of literature, mythologies have always been my favourite. And there’s so little about Norse mythology, that I was glad it got a chance to be made into such a spectacular, phenomenal movie, starring such talented actors.

With that being said, let’s delve into everything there is to love and look forward to when it comes to Thor.

(Warning: as always, spoilers ahead)

1. THE HUMOR

I did read an article stating that Tom Hiddleston admitted this would be the funniest Thor ever (I am using a lot of superlatives, I know. It’s just that great!)

And well, he wasn’t lying.

See, Chris Hemsworth is this unfairly, annoyingly perfect human being. I mean, he looks like a god, he can act, he can sing, he is a great dad to his kids, and it turns out, he can be funny. Countless interviews and even that little segment he did where Thor was taking a break with Darryl (see youtube video here, if you haven’t already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_mizUMlvUc)

So yeah, the beginning of the movie already had me laughing. (*spoiler content*) Thor was trapped in a cage talking to a skeleton I was like “wtf?” But what did it for me was when he was being interrogated by that fiery dude (don’t know how to spell his name) and he was swinging on the chain Oh.My.God. You would have to have watched it to understand.

The chain was rotating him around and every time he had his back to the evil dude, he would be like “Hold on.” And “I swear to God, I’m not doing this. It’s doing this on its own.” And it turns out, a lot of it was improvised. So bless you, Chris Hemsworth for your near perfection and humor.

 Of course, Tom Hiddleston also had his funny moments. One was when he was kidnapped by the great wizard, Dr. Strange. When he came out of the portal, he was like, “I’ve been falling for thirty minutes!” And I’m sure we’ve all seen the clip where Hela goes “Kneel.” And Loki is just like, “who dafuq does this bitch thinks she is? That’s my line!”

Also, ALSO! When Hulk comes out- Loki’s reaction is just pricless- omfg! You guys, you have got to love Tom Hiddleston for all the sass and attitude and facial expressions he can fit in Loki’s character.

2. THE CAST

Thor brings back familiar faces like Loki, Heimdall and *surprise, surprise* Odin. We even get a scene of Volstagg and Fandral there. But, we also have a slew of new characters. One, being Surtur (big, fiery dude I was talking about.) We also have big, bad Hela. And of course, Valkyrie.

Before we talk about the new characters, let’s talk about the old ones.

Loki. Loki. Loki. He has got to be my most favourite villain of all time. At the beginning of the movie, he is living it up as Odin and even builds a statue of himself. Of course, Thor (even though he isn’t the smartest Avenger) eventually figures it out. They have a somewhat happy reunion, before Thor asks for Odin.

Odin has been on Earth for some time, stripped of his power. He ends up in Norway (big nod to Norse mythology right there) and ends up dying in a sprinkle of golden little lights. Before he dies, he is somewhat able to explain about Hela ( who we’ll talk about later). But Odin, being Odin, he doesn’t stay dead and still appears to Thor in somewhat weird and creepy visions, and he’s sassy too. He goes like “Are you the god of hammers?” Well, excuse you All Father

Volstagg and Fandral. This is the part I do not like of the film. They were such lovable, lovable characters and Hela killed them without blinking. Like wtf? They survived this long only to die like that? WHY MARVEL? WHYYYYY. I mean, Pietro’s death is still fresh!!!

Heimdall. Our watcher has turned into some sort of Asgardian vigilante. He’s running from the law after what he did in Thor: The Dark World, but he also keeps the citizens of Asgard safe while Loki and Thor are stuck on the other side of the universe. Good job, Heimdall! You deserve a raise.

And now *drum roll*

THE BIG BAD. Hela. She is this combination of deadly (ugh duh goddess of death), jealous and powerful. Not really great for Thor, whose hammer is also destroyed by her. And to top it all off, she is the first born, not him. Ouch. Talk about living a lie. See, Cate Blanchett does a great job of playing this death goddess who revels in destruction and killing, but I think it’s the way that Hela is written that doesn’t really do it for me. She’s just so full of hate and wants to take over the nine realms. She is evil to the core, and so, there’s not much going on besides her being a powerful enemy. Sadly, compared to Loki and other villains, her character falls flat. I mean, even Ultron- who was a robot- had some twisted reasoning to all his evilness. At least she had a dog. I want one. All that aside, Cate Blanchett is still gorgeous and talented and I love her!

Valkyrie. I was impressed with her fighting skills, and even though she was drunk, she still won. Way to go, girl! She also feels a lot like a female Thor to me, and maybe that’s why they’ll end up together? I don’t know, but I think that’s where Marvel’s heading with these two, especially since Thor and Jane broke up. (Ikr! Just like that?! After everything that happened in The Dark World?) Still, in the comics, they did get together at times, so it’s not that surprising if the writers go there.

Surtur. Big, bad fiery dude. And when I say big, I do mean big. He is prophesised to destroy Asgard and bring about Ragnarok, when he grows to be as big as a mountain. See, but I’m not telling you if he succeeds. That, you’ll have to see in the movie.

3. THE BROMANCE IS REAL

The thing I’ve always loved about Thor movies is the relationship between Loki and Thor. It’s so real and raw and funny. They really capture how siblings act irl. At least, that’s how me and my brother are. I just assume most people can relate. I love how Thor has finally, finally learned, that Loki will always try to get the best of him. I also love how Loki will come to his brother’s aid no matter their differences. In the end of the movie, when Thor is sitting in his “throne”, I’m happy to see Loki standing there beside him. And that scene in the room! Where Thor was like “If you were here, I might actually give you a hug” and Loki catches whatever Thor throws at him because he is there! WAHHHH MY FANGIRL HEART

4. THOR’S TRUE POWER

Even though Odin could’ve put it nicely instead of being like “Are you the god of hammers?” (see now, I know where Loki gets all his sass from. It wasn’t spending all that time with Frigga) It’s true that Thor’s power doesn’t come from the hammer. Still, Mjolnir was a character all on it’s own. I’m gonna miss that hammer. My most favourite parts of the movie were when Thor used his powers without the hammer. It was so cool seeing his eyes go all blue and lightning just zapping off his body. His fight scene with the Hulk was e.p.i.c. EPIC. 

He would’ve won if it wasn’t for that cheating Grandmaster! Seriously, dude? And then Thor also zaps Hela with a hella big blast and she flies out the window. DAMN. DAMN BRO. Thor kicks ass without that hammer. I wonder if it’ll be like that in Infinity Wars and what the reactions of his fellow Avengers might be. *insert smirk*

 There were other great parts of the movie- the other gladiators wanting a revolution, Korg (omg Korg, I love him. And the fact that he is voiced by the director makes it even funnier). And the end credits! Goosebumps! I love Thor. I really wish this wasn’t the last movie. But right now, I’m really, reallyyyy looking forward to Infinity Wars.

[doctorofmagic]

i wonder if chthon is on his way because of blade? i'm not holding on hope they'll make scarlet witch a mutant who draws magic energy from the dark dimension/darkhold/chthon and let her show up in blade, but who knows? i just remembered that vampires are like... magic and close to the darkhold/chthon stuff just like werewolves and witches and cults and stuff so it made me go "hmmm". but knowing the mcu they might try to make "realistic" vampires in order to fit into the mcu at large. i really don't believe the very dickflicky/ultimates-inspired/shield/sword mcu will suddenly accept all sorts of magic out of a sudden. i mean even the cartoon allowed tony to sciencesplain vampires physiology. 👀

Yes, MCU hates magic, I feel you!

I’ll share a theory about a magic creature in the show so if you or other people don’t want to read it, just ignore the following paragraphs under the cut. I’ll connect this theory to Blade, so it may be of your interest.

There’s this theory that maybe a ~certain~ character whose name I can’t tell because it was leaked is disguised as [spoiler] Mephisto [/spoiler]. And to be honest, I’m starting to believe it? So maybe, just maybe, even though Wanda is more connected to Chthon, there will be a mystic creature behind her “magic” after all, pulling some kind of influence on her (which is better than going full “crazy woman trope” in my opinion because of all the problematic stuff).

Some people also believe it’s Nightmare (@godofmagic, this moment is yours!!), and there’s a third possibility that it’s maybe Chthon.

It pains me to say it because I do love both Nightmare and Mephisto, but I’d rather have Chthon because of his connection to Wanda and chaos magic. The more they insert magic, the better for us magic fans, am I right?

But assuming the leak... Maybe it’s really Mephisto. I’ll just leave a reference to back up this theory, which is Infamous Iron Man. It seems they’re using this plot (without Doom and Stephen, how dare they????).

That said, if it’s indeed Chthon, it opens the possibility to the Darkhold and, obviously, vampires. It’s funny because the Darkhold already appeared in the MCU twice (on AoS and Runaways) but that book was a joke compared what it truly represents in the Marvel Universe.

I swear to Vishanti, if they pull the scientific version of vampires, I’ll riot! I’m glad Doctor Strange was out so the cartoon (at least, Avengers Assemble) made magic more tangible with both Stephen and Loki.

But hopefully, that’s not gonna happen. It’s quite sad that Helstrom disappeared as soon as it came out because they also went full magic. Not to mention Runaways’ third season with Nico and Morgan.

I have hope they’ll add the supernatural side of the MCU little by little instead of the technology and science bs they always tend to pull on us. Midnight Sons would be fantastic, especially if they developed Johnny Blaze (not Nicolas Cage pls, Marvel, don’t do this since you’re bringing every single actor who has ever played a Marvel role before to the new movies).

Btw, no one asked for it but here’s my MCU Midnight Sons dream team: Doctor Strange, Moon Knight, Blade, Hellstrom, Elsa Bloodstone, Satana, Doctor Voodoo, Johnny Blaze and - of course - Bats.

Lastly, please do not hold your breath haha!! Feel free to share your thoughts any time. Besides... Have you seen how long my posts are???? rip

[angelkurenai]

Imagine Jared and Misha teasing Jensen because you, his favorite actress and celebrity crush, got a part in Supernatural and he acts like a fanboy.

“So how's it going guys? It's been quite some time since I last saw you and so much has changed!” the interviewer said with a smile as the three men nodded their heads.

“Oh yeah definitely! I mean I- I died, so there's that.” Misha said with a shrug and Jared and Jensen snickered “You know-” he spoke up again, raising a finger “I think the only sad thing about it is that it wasn't Jared that did it, it's sad for him at least.” he looked at the taller man you nodded his head with a grin.

“Agree, absolutely agree! So I am just here and apologizing to you Misha, I will try harder next time to convince the writers to let me do that!” he said and Misha laughed himself.

“Well, glad to know you guys are taking well to that!” she laughed.

“Oh yeah, he's a Winchester. He'll be back, we don't worry about that.” Jensen shook his head and Misha grinned.

“I love just how normal this sounds in the fandom to be honest!” she chuckled “Speaking of which: there has been a new addition to it, right?”

“Uh the Nephilim, right?” Jared spoke up with a smile “Yeah, I am sure this will be so much fun, we have already filmed a couple scenes and I've read some of the future scenes too and it's all so much I honestly didn't know they could take it this far! I really think he's one of the most interesting characters we've ever had.”

“That's amazing, try not to kill him to fast boys.” she chuckled an they laughed.

“Well, I'll- I'll try to hold Jared back since he wants to turn this into Friday the 13th all of a sudden!” Jensen said with a grin, pointing at his friend.

“Me or you? Dude, we need to avenge our friend's death even if he is not directly responsible!” Jared shook hs head with a laugh.

“You said you'd like to kill me yourself just a second ago!” Misha exclaimed and Jared shrugged.

“That's exactly what I mean. Took away the perfect opportunity!” he said so simply that it actually made everybody laugh.

“Glad to see you still love each other just as much as the first day, even after all these years.” she said with a giggle.

“Oh trust me!” Jensen piped in “I still want to off both of them just as much as the first day of meeting them!”

“Seriously?” Misha laughed at him as Jensen grinned “What am I supposed to say then you assholes?” he said in disbelief and Jensen shook his head, laughing wholeheartedly.

“Yes, yes we really are a family here as you can see!” Jared said with a big smile.

“That is great to see then.” she chuckled, flipping through her card for the next question “Other than this one addition to the show, one we've really been waiting for actually there was one that has been announced this summer and it really surprised everybody! I'm talking about a new ally that we may not know the actual name of but know is going to be one hell of an appearance since she's portrayed by an amazing actress as (Y/n)!” she said with a grin and Misha and Jared smiled widely as the glanced at Jensen, whose head hang low.

“Oh there we go.” he mumbled and she raised an eyebrow.

“And that would mean?” she asked as she too a look at the snickering Jared and Misha.

“You know I actually thought I was going to avoid the embarrassment but nope, here comes possibly the worst moments of my life.” Jensen rested his chin on his palm and sighed, a little too dramatically.

“Why so?”

“You'll see. Oh you'll see.” Jensen mumbled, glancing at his friends from the corner of his eyes.

“Oh relax, we're not gonna embarrass you... a lot.” Misha said with a shrug as Jensen scoffed.

“Well, let me explain everything cause you seem confused.” Jared got on a serious face and Jared just hid his face behind his hands at what was coming “Jensen is a fan of (Y/n)'s. Like not the normal kind, if there is that, no. Not the 'Oh I love your movies, can I have an autograph?' absolutely not. He's more like- Do you remember Becky from the show?” he asked and she nodded her head.

“Yeah, yeah I do. That kind of fan?”

“No, no.” he shook his head “Worse! Actually much much worse!” he exclaimed and Misha snickered “He's seen all of her movies at least ten times each, and his favorites- oh those I can't even count. He knows the dialogs better than the actors that have actually been in them. And he's seen every interview she's ever had, like every one of them I am not kidding you! And- and Chuck forbid if she uploads a photo or video on any of her social media oh dear! The first like will always be his! Always I swear!”

“And he sure as hell won't stop talking or at least thinking about it all day!” Misha spoke up, looking at Jensen who was shaking his head with a small whine leaving his lips “He hasn't commented on any of them, not yet but oh Castiel help anyone that dares say they are her biggest fan! Nope, they don't live to see the next day come!” he shook his head “Absolutely not! And let's not get started when someone mentions her, he will pop in worse than Castiel himself! He almost gave one of the make up artists a heart attack!”

“So as you expect-” Jared wet on from then “When we found out that she had actually audition for a role in Supernatural, we did our best to avoid him at all costs!”

“Why that?”

“Because he was a mess of nerves and stuttering and awkwardness. Dean around a woman has nothing in common with what he was just at the mere thought she'd be on set with us! He'd ask questions about himself, and what she'd think and then thing of everything that could go wrong and all the ways he could embarrass himself in front of her!” Jared said with a chuckle as the only thing Jensen could do was mumble 'I hate you's.

“Wow I really think that filming this season is going to be interesting then huh?”

“Oh I'm already sure we'll have the best gag reel ever!” Misha said proudly and Jared nodded his head.

“We can't wait for the teasing- er I mean shooting to begin!” he said and Misha snickered.

“I- I don't really know why I hang out with these guys anymore.” Jensen huffed, shifting in his seat.

“Well, although Jared and Misha made it pretty clear I'd like to ask you Jensen if you have anything to say about (Y/n) being in Supernatural?”

“Well, uhm I'm sorry for a moment I was too caught up planning their deaths.” Jensen cleared his throat, blinking.

“Pff as if. He's too caught up thinking about her. Cough – celebrity crush for life – cough some more.” Jared said with a smirk and Jensen only rolled his eyes.

“I'm gonna try to ignore the moose and uhm say that, honestly and all jokes aside I was really excited that we were going to have such an amazing actress on the show. It's not every day an oscars' winner wants to be part of this. I know she declined several movies to be able to be here with us, at least for this season and if that's not honoring enough I don't know what is.” he shrugged “I think- honestly, know she is going to do an amazing job in bringing this character to life and give her the depth and feelings she really needs and yeah maybe it's the fan in me talking but I really think this is going to be my favorite season so far!”

“Alright, it's great to hear that from you guys now.” she flipped through her cards, her eyebrows shot up once she read the question.

“Oh wow, alright- so I have a you could say question here that has been sent by the actual authors of the show to me. They told me they wanted the reactions captured on camera and I couldn't understand then but now I really do understand.” she chuckled, catching their attention.

“They said they wanted to tell it to you when giving out the script for the next episode you have to film but found this as a great opportunity to let you, especially Jensen, know.” she looked at them.

“I'm... kinda scared now.” he mumbled.

“They're killing you off dude!” Jared said with a snicker “Shame you won't have a scene with your princess.” he said and only got a hit on the head from him.

“Uh actually quite the opposite.” she spoke up “To Jensen: How does it feel being told that (Y/n)'s character is going to be Dean's most serious love interest along with everything that comes with that?”

[weekendwarriorblog]

CAPTAIN MARVEL: ED’s Very Important Thoughts on Marvel’s Latest (Possible Minor Spoilers!)

So I’m going to try a bit of a two-fold experiment here. The first part of the experiment is whether I can set aside a few personal grudges against those involved with making this movie (which I won’t get into right now) to write a fair and balanced review. I think I can do it.

Caveat:  I wasn’t too happy about the seat/theater in which I saw the movie. Normally I’d go for IMAX but that screening didn’t start until after 8pm, and the seat I reserved ended up being further back then I liked and also was too far to the side so part of the screen was blocked. The sound wasn’t too great either, definitely not loud enough, but hey, I’ll do my best.

The other caveat is that I’m only going to write this review for an hour, and once that hour is up, I’m done talking about Captain Marvel, other than in terms of box office or other aspects for my day job at The Beat. To make this easier, I’m gonna break this down into a few categories, borrowing from one of my old colleagues at ComingSoon.net, Mr. Scott Chitwood.

I’m not going to talk too much about the plot, because that’s probably wherein lies the most spoilers for the movie, because even if you think you know the general story and how some of the characters play into it, there are quite a few nice surprises.

The movie starts on Hala, homeworld of the Kree, where Brie Larson’s “Vers” is training with her Commander, played by Jude Law. They go on a mission to stop a Skrull invasion of a small defenseless planet, and in the battle, Vers is captured, her mind is played with and she gets transported to earth circa 1995 where she runs into S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his new recruit Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg). The Skrulls, led by Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos, are right on her tail, looking for some sort of hyperdrive, but Vers is haunted by implanted memories, and she wants to find answers, taking her and Fury to Pegasus.

What I Liked:

Brie Larson was a wise pick for Carol Danvers/ Captain Marvel. She’s a damn good actor and she brings her all to a character who is highly complicated in terms of emotions and backstory. My personal issues with Larson have nothing to do with the character or her abilities as an actor, but her decision to be a Social Justice Warrior and make a big deal about using her celebrity to constitute change…  without really know what she’s talking about. I’m sure that in a few years from now, when she’s a little older and maybe learns a bit more about the business side of things, she’ll understand why what she’s been doing is actually angering people who would support her, especially if and when she decides to move further into directing. Don’t get me wrong. I think she’s entitled to speak her opinion, as is every woman, but you can’t go after men, especially those who have been the ones whose fandom have helped Marvel get to where it’s at. Anyone who was surprised by the fanboy reaction, just doesn’t have a clue how the internet works.

I loved seeing the Kree and Skrull brought to the screen finally, and for the most part, the movie used them well to set-up future conflicts between the Kree and Skrull in other MCU films.

Similarly, I’ve been a fan of Ben Mendelsohn for a long time and I could say the same for Jude Law, so their casting in the movie was definitely going to be primary reasons for me to want to see this. Mendelsohn is great in a role that allows him to play in creature make-up but also for him to play with a few other roles including playing Fury’s S.H.I.E.L.D. supervisor who looks surprisingly like… Ben Mendelsohn. There’s a lot more to his Skrull Talos than I expected going in, and I owe a lot of that to him reuniting with his Mississippi Grind directors, as he was fantastic in that movie as well.

Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck do quite an amazing job when you consider that they’ve mainly been working in the realm of independent film and have never had such an enormous CG-heavy movie with such a big budget. Granted, at this point, Marvel Studios has its team of designers and CG people who basically do the job they do, but that also added up to one of my issues, which you can read below.

Many others have raved about the cat Goose, who Nick Fury quickly bonds with while infiltrating Pegasus, and Goose frequently does steal scenes from the human actors. There’s also a lot more to Goose than you may think, and that’s another fun surprise of the film.

What I Didn’t Like:

I can understand why it was important to include the young girl version of Monica Rambeau in the story to set up possibly having Photon in a future MCU movie, but man, I’m so not into Disney’s decision to keep forcing kids into these movies. I had the same issue with Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 -- still my least favorite MCU movie -- and at least Akira and Azari Akbar, who played the younger Monica, were better than the kid teamed with Downey for that movie.

I just didn’t get the point of Annette Bening’s character at all, and I didn’t think she brought much to the story at all. Sure, I can understand her place in the story  but she was given the name of a character that I thought was played by Jude Law, and it just made things confusing

That brings us to the overuse of nostalgia to keep showing how the movie takes place in the ‘90s. Boden and Fleck absolutely go overboard with it, not just showing locations like a Blockbuster Video or making references but every song is from the ‘90s and not all of them work for the film. I had the same issue with last year’s Bumblebee, because while I loved the music in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I felt that both movies were deliberately trying to win points by using popular songs. For instance, having a scene with Bening dancing to Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” served little purpose, and the use of No Doubt’s “Just A Girl” during one of Captain Marvel’s fights was so obvious that it hurt the scene more than helped. I feel like things like this will have to be blamed on what James Gunn did in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, but in those cases, he found really interesting and often 

The opening scenes in Hala and the other planet basically looked like so many other Marvel movies as well. Those scenes could have just as easily been in one of the Thor or Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and it makes me feel like Marvel’s design and art team is starting to get burnt out. Marvel really needs to make a few movies that look vastly different from what we’ve seen before, because at this point, the criticism that all of Marvel’s movies look the same is starting to be very true.

Most of the visual FX were decent, but seeing a younger Samuel Jackson/Nick Fury was a bit disconcerting at first since CG is used to make him look younger for the entire film. Also, the Skrulls, whether they’re created using make-up or CG or a combination of both, look a little cheesy compared to, say, Josh Brolin’s Thanos. Stuff like that really takes away from things like Mendelsohn’s performance when he’s in Skrull form.

I was pretty excited that Lee Pace’s Ronan the Accuser and Djimon Hounsou’s Korath from Guardians of the Galaxy were included in the story, but they had so little to do and added so little to the story, same with Gemma Chan’s Minerva.

I also didn’t need to be hit over the head with the movie’s Social Justice Warrior agenda about how women can do anything and that they shouldn’t be underestimated. DUH. See, kids, us grown-ups have known that for many, many decades, and we certainly don’t need a Marvel movie to teach us important life lessons, thank you very much. This just adds to my feelings like these MCU movies are trying to drive home messages rather than just be escapist entertainment.

What I Was Ambivalent About But Feel It’s Worth Mentioning Anyway:

It was really hard to tell if the humor in the movie worked, because there was a guy near me, who was just laughing so hard and loud at every single line regardless of how funny or not it was. Oddly, I had this exact same problem when I saw Bumblebee, too, and it’s why I often refer to fanboys as “rubes” because they will laugh at just about everything.

I also didn’t feel the sound was decent enough in my screening to have an opinion on the score, which is usually a big deal for me.

Something I Loved (That Might Be Considered a Minor Spoiler) But That Kept Me from Hating the Movie:

One of the initial issues I had with the idea of making a Captain Marvel movie was that I didn’t think even Marvel Studios could create an origin story out of the mangled mess that is the character in the comics. I mean, there was another Captain Marvel aka Mar-Vell who had Nega-Bands that let him change into this perennial Marvel sidekick named Rick Jones, and Ms. Marvel’s origins came out of air force pilot Carol Danvers getting a blood transfusion from Mar-Vell. She then went on to a number of different guises and monikers over the years, and I knew that there was no way to cover everything.

That said, I was really impressed with how the filmmakers broke away from the comics in a big way and to the point where there lots of twists and surprises in terms of which characters were good and which were bad. In other words, more than any other MCU movie, Captain Marvel plays with the grey area between good and evil which exists in the real world. That’s something that just isn’t done very much in this day and age, especially in movies, so delivering so many surprises was my favorite thing about the movie.

Basically, Captain Marvel ends up somewhere in the range of the first Ant-Man movie in my book, although I’ve already been liking the movie more as I’ve thought about it, so it might get another viewing very soon. I definitely liked the characters in the movie more than I did the ones in Black Panther, and I think Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel is going to be more than a worthy addition to the Avengers. I wish her introduction to the MCU was handled a bit better, but in my mind, Captain Marvel does the job it was meant to do, and I can understand how some people might like it more than others.

Rating: 7/10

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Shit I Hate #2: Aspects of the DCEU (And the Psychopathic Portion of Its Fandom)

So, I’m sure a lot of you think I outright hate the DCEU. I haven’t been shy from giving harsh criticisms of it in the past, though the whole hardcore anti-DCEU thing from a while back was only to get rid of a particularly annoying mutual (and she and people like her will be brought up later in this post, don’t worry). So now, here, I will give my honest-to-god opinions on the DCEU, and talk about what it is I hate about it. Because I certainly don’t hate everything about it; there’s plenty of value to be  found in it. But it has some glaring flaws I want to address.

So, as I said, I don’t hate the DCEU. In fact, I really, really want it to succeed. Anyone with a brain wants it to get better; if there’s only one company making good superhero movies, well, people are gonna get fatigued. Good competition is better for business than steamrolling the competition. But sadly, the DCEU has been, from an objective standpoint, incredibly disappointing.

It’s totally okay to like and enjoy these movies; like I said, there is plenty to enjoy and admire. But from an objective standpoint, I can’t say any of these films are very good as superhero movies. Let me go into what I mean: the superhero movie genre is obviously not set in stone, and it can encompass a lot of things: it can be dark and gritty, lighthearted and comic, a mixture of the two… But DC has tended to veer towards dark and gritty when it comes to adaptations, especially when it comes to Batman. Out of the seven Batman films from the 80s to today, five of them have been darker and grittier than your standard comic book fare (Tum Burton’s and Nolan’s Batman films to be precise). The other two are much-maligned for their campy tone and silliness. Now, Nolan’s films, while being dark and gritty, are very well regarded for the most part, particularly the middle entry of the franchise, The Dark Knight. This film is one of my all-time favorite films, and is probably the film that has held DC back the most as they try and start up their shared cinematic universe.

The reason Nolan’s Batman films work despite their dark and gritty nature is because they are much more grounded in reality than your standard superhero fare as well as featuring a hero that tends to deal with darker fare in general. DC, in their rush to join the cinematic universe bandwagon Marvel kickstarted, decided that Nolan’s successful Batman films would be the best films to emulate when going for their reboots; the problem is, their first film in the DCEU was a Superman film, and Zach Snyder was directing.

Zach Snyder is not a bad director; in fact, he has directed some truly amazing comic book adaptations (Watchmen and 300). The thing is, though, that Snyder was always best at faithfully translating someone else’s work to live action. He managed to deliver a faithful adaptation of Alan Moore’s infamously unfilmable graphic novel hat honestly improves on it in some areas, and the same goes for his adaptation of Frank Miller’s tale of the 300 Spartans. Original material is not his strong suit; look at Sucker Punch, one of the most awful, brainless action films ever shat out, and the point where you can see his career starting to spiral into Shymalanian failure. Man of Steel is not an adaptation of any one Superman story, and the questionable elements of it are not easy to ignore with Snyder’s style. The incredible destruction during the final battle, the weak characterization of Zod, the more violent Superman, Superman killing Zod, it’s not as easy tos wallow with the pretentious pseudo-Nolan style Snyder is going for. While he’s great at adapting other people’s work, Snyder is not good at emulating other director’s styles, and it really makes the film one hard to recommend. It’s a dark, gritty, and dour Superman movie, and Superman is not a hero people wanted to see get dark and brooding. Still, Man of Steel is not a film I’d say is objectively good or bad; it’s a very mixed movie, and I’d say it’s on the fence. At the very least, as the first movie in a franchise, it had great room to improve with a sequel. A sequel would address the flaws, fix plotholes, just work everything into something more enjoyable. I mean, all the actors did a good job with what they were given, and Cavill is easily my favorite live action Superman, so a sequel would easily improve on this, right?

That’s sadly not what we got. Not entirely anyway.

I once said the DCEU was like if Marvel had released their films like this: Iron Man → The Avengers → Guardians of the Galaxy → Avengers: Age of Ultron → Thor. Some asshat responded with some smug, sarcastic condescension saying “Oh why not have an origin story for every character in Lord of the Rings before Lord of the Rings actually came out? :)” This analogy is incredibly stupid, as Tolkien likely would have LOVED that, and superhero movies REQUIRE character setup. Do you know why The Avengers was as enjoyable as it was? Because all of these characters had already been set up in other films, so the movie didn’t need to feed us all these backstories for all these characters, just giving “need to know” characterization for any newcomers. A big crossover like this only can work if there’s proper setup; if Freddy vs. Jason happened after the first Friday the 13th and before a single Nightmare on Elm Street movie it probably wouldn’t be a very good film. It had plenty of films to build up what a threat Freddy and Jason were. Batman v Superman does not do that. It is the followup to Man of Steel, and it expects us to just go with two brand new, never-before-seen characters, one who has little to no backstory given and one whose backstory and characterization takes up a good chunk of the first third of the film. There really should have been a new Batman film, a Superman sequel, and Wonder Woman’s movie prior to this. They didn’t have to be origin stories, a brief origin like Batman’s at the start of Batman v Superman would have been fine, but audiences needed SOMETHING so we wouldn’t just be thrown in and forced to accept shit. The lack of buildup even seeps into the cameos; we are thrown the Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg origins one after the other in a three minute span of time. It’s like they’re trying to cram as many origins in at once instead of bothering to take time establishing these characters. Imagine if in the comics there was one panel of Batman’s parents getting show, and then Batman is just an accepted part of the universe from there on out. What the filmmakers don’t seem to get is, even though most of us know the general story, not everyone is a comic fan with years of experience in background and lore. The reason buildup is needed is for newcomers, people unfamiliar with the characters. Just throwing characters in alienates people.

Of course, this is the least of that film’s problems. The tone and even the scenes are extremely dark and bleak until the very end. There’s very little levity, unless you can bring yourself to laugh at Eisenberg’s cringeworthy performance. Now, obviously, I’m not saying there needs to be tons and tons of jokes; The Dark Knight had rather sparse humor, and movies like the Iron Man sequels, Thor: The Dark World, and a good chunk of Age of Ultron are very weak due to the oversaturation of comedic elements. But having this level of darkness and crushing gloom and moodiness can wear on audiences; it can be hard for people to give a shit about a story and characters in a miserable setting. And this is a common criticism; aside from Wonder Woman, people have found it hard to care about the heroes in this film. Their characterization can come across as unlikable, bitter, and mean. While this works for Batman, for Superman this is even more alien than he is.

And again, it’s not like this movie has nothing going for it; the fight scenes are all fantastic, Bruce’s origin is well done, seeing the Big Three together is cool and all the actors save Eisenberg do well… but it’s not enough. This movie is, quite frankly, a hot mess, a film that apes the Nolan style with no idea what made it work, much as all the awful Shrek clones that came out in the 2000s that tried to be Shrek without understanding why it was such a good film in the first place. It’s just dark, bleak, and edgy because that’s what they think audiences want! And that is most definitely not the case, to a certain extent.

Audiences DO like having more mature superhero stories; The Dark Knight and The Winter Soldier certainly prove that, what with their more serious tones. But, especially in the sort of culture we have these days, people don’t want to see darkness and bleakness in their superhero films anymore. Superheros are supposed to be escapism and excitement, something enjoyable to see when you want to escape the darkness of the world. In an America that has experienced years of riots, protests, and terrible news, is it any surprise that audiences are rejecting DC’s dark and brooding hero stories for Marvel’s more lighthearted-with-serious-elements movies?

This brings me to the biggest thing I hate: the insane, miserable anti-MCU pro-DCEU apologists. Now, like I said, there’s nothing wrong with being a fan of these movies. Hell, despite my criticisms, I have a great deal of admiration for elements of the franchise, and I enjoyed Suicide Squad a great deal. But the levels some people go to is disgusting and disturbing.

The perfect example is a mutual I used to have. She was really nice and cool for a while, and liked both Marvel and DC. Then Age of Ultron came out. After that, her intelligence went downhill, and she became a rabid hater of the MCU. She would constantly post about how she hated it, while praising the DCEU. She’d reblog tons of posts with asinine criticisms of the MCU and had a sort of smug sense of superiority about her love of the DC films. It came to the point she was outright bashing MCU fans and calling anyone who defended the films, including me, a ‘stan,’ while ignoring and deflecting any criticisms of DC’s movies. She was one of the people who believed Marvel was paying off critics, even pointing to the great reviews Doctor Strange got as evidence (she was convinced the movie was some evil racist mess that whitewashed for the sake of profit, which is so far from the truth it’s laughable). This is ignoring the fact that paying critics off like that would be incredibly counterproductive and would be a waste of money, but at this point critical thinking was not her forte.

And this wasn’t unique to her; the incredibly rabid fans are ALL like that. They all believe the lies about Disney and Marvel bribing critics, they all hop up and down and accuse the MCU of racism, they all screech about how bad Marvel is and how they cram jokes into everything (even though there are only about five movies where this is a big problem). They are all the some kind of person who is smug and condescending and acts like they’re mentally superior for enjoying certain types of people fighting in colorful underwear. They are in the same league of stupid shittiness as anti-bronies and anti-Frozen, and they may honestly be less intelligent than either of those groups. Now, obviously, there are plenty of normal, reasonable people who enjoy or even prefer the DCEU to the MCU. This isn’t something that affects the entire fandom, it’s just the kind of people I’ve had to experience in large numbers.

So, let’s sum up what exactly I hate about the DCEU:

1. Snyder’s piss-poor direction and influence

2. The decision to constantly ape Nolan’s style, despite the fact they don’t seem to get why people liked films like The Dark Knight

3. Rushing in to a cinematic universe with no buildup

4. Questionable casting choices, such as Eisenberg as Luthor and Amber Heard

5. The lack of levity in their first two movies to help offset the crushing darkness

6. The constant pushing of extended cuts better than the theatrical release; they need to just release the full cuts to theaters and stop fucking with director’s visions

7. Speaking of which, the disastrous mangling of Suicide Squad

8. The rabid uber-fans who have a superiority complex and are just childish shitheads

That about sums up the shit I hate about the DCEU. I don’t hate the actual DCEU itself, though I have to admit it’s hard to enjoy aside from Suicide Squad so far (would it have killed them to keep more Leto in and not have the fucking trailer company submit a cut they mashed with the director’s?). What I hate is a lot of artistic choices they’ve put into it, the direction it has gone, and how fucking awful some of the fans can get. I’m hyped as hell for Wonder Woman and cautiously optimistic about Justice League, and I cannot wait to see Affleck’s Batman film and Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam. I just really want the filmmakers to take the criticisms of their works to heart and help make the DCEU a worthy rival for the MCU instead of looking like a cheap bandwagoner like it does now.

We can only hope.

[bharatiyamedia-blog]

It: Chapter Two: Release date, cast, plot, theories, rumors

http://tinyurl.com/y6xl54en Stephen King’s It crawled back onto the scene in 2017, when the first of two movie remakes came out. The second film, based like the first on King’s 1,100-page 1986 bestseller, is not a sequel — it’s a continuation of the plot, taking place 27 years after the first film. Members of the Losers’ Club from the first film have been recast with adult actors, though the young actors will also appear in flashback. A teaser trailer released in May 2019 focuses on a grown-up Bev Marsh, now played by Jessica Chastain, as she learned that sometimes, you can’t (and shouldn’t) go home again. Now playing: Watch this: It: Chapter Two trailer shows Pennywise coming back 2:56 Author Stephen King himself apparently loves the film — before the trailer came out, he raved about it in a tweet, saying, “Looking forward to IT CHAPTER 2? You should be. I’ve seen it, and it’s terrific.” Looking forward to IT CHAPTER 2? You should be. I’ve seen it, and it’s terrific. The trailer is coming Thursday, at noon. You’ll float. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) May 7, 2019 Back in July 2018, Chastain, who took on the role of Bev from younger actress Sophia Lillis, tweeted a photo showing Lillis passing the story’s infamous red balloon to her older counterpart. “If we’re telling the story of adults, we are going to have flashbacks that take us back to the ’80s and inform the story in the present day,” director Andy Muschietti told Entertainment Weekly  Release date, production info The movie was filmed in the Toronto area in the late summer and early fall of 2018. Canadian film buffs took photos of the action and shared them online. In August, the Northumberland News shared a shot of Pennywise perched on the shoulder of a Paul Bunyan statue in Memorial Park in Port Hope, Ontario. Paul and Pennywise make for a disturbing duo to be sure. Cast: Who’s who? Check out a photo of the adult cast gathering in July 2018 as filming was about to start. Plot news, rumors and theories Readers know what happens: The plot is no secret to anyone who’s read King’s terrifying novel. The Losers’ Club of misfit kids who fought killer clown Pennywise learn that he’s back 27 years later, and they’re the only ones who can attempt to stop him. The King novel wove the two age groups together, but the movies separate out the kids fighting Pennywise in the first film from their adult versions doing the same (with some likely flashbacks). And there were some changes to King’s novel in the first film, so there may yet be some surprises, even for loyal King readers. Two grim scenes: Screenwriter Gary Dauberman told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2019 that two disturbing scenes from King’s book would be included in the film. One involves a hate crime against a gay character whose attackers are being influenced by Pennywise, and the other involves a sad chapter in adult Bev’s personal life. More about Pennywise: Back in 2017, Bill Skarsgård told Metro UK that this second film will explore his creepy character even more. “It’s a different story,” he said. “But I’m excited to delve in deeper to the character as there’s more exploration for who Pennywise is.” Specifically, the actor has discussed a disturbing scene showing a less-clown-like Pennywise in the 1600s that was shot for the first film and not used. Some are wondering if that will be included in Chapter Two. Buckets of blood: Chastain appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in February 2019 and warned that there’s a scene in the film that might contain the largest amount of (fake) blood ever spilled in a horror-movie scene. “The next day, I was like, pulling blood out of my eyeballs,” she said. Don’t be like Mike: Director Muschietti said in 2017 that the character of Mike, the one Losers’ Club member who stays in Derry, will be different from the novel. “My idea of Mike in the second movie is quite darker from the book,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I want to make his character the one pivotal character who brings them all together, but staying in Derry took a toll with him. I want him to be a junkie actually. A librarian junkie. When the second movie starts, he’s a wreck.” Scenes we might see: After the first movie was filmed, producer Barbara Muschietti told journalists that some scenes didn’t fit in the budget for that film, but might make Chapter Two. One scene in particular, a massacre at the Black Spot nightclub, may even open the new film. “That sequence with the Black Spot, we think it’s gonna be a great opening for the next film,” Muschietti said at the time. Whether or not that makes it to the opening scene, we will have to wait and see. Tongue-twister: Screenwriter Daubman told Cinema Blend in September 2018 that a bizarre element of King’s book, called The Ritual of Chüd, will play a role in the film. Cinema Blend explains it like this: “The Ritual of Chüd is basically a psychic battle of wills, but is translated by the author with some very odd imagery. Specifically, the idea is that Pennywise and a member of the Losers Club each extend their tongues, overlap them, bite down, and then exchange jokes until one party laughs.” Don’t get a huge Coke: No confirmation for this, but one Twitter user claims that the film is “almost three hours long.” Hey, after Avengers: Endgame, we’re all used to bladder-buster movies, right? Turtle time: In the book, the ancient turtle Maturin is seen as the creator of the universe Though director Andy Muschietti was light on turtle references in the first movie, he told SyFy Wire to expect more in the second film. “I think in the second part, the turtle will try to help them,” he said. “In the second movie, the turtle left a few clues to their childhood that they don’t remember. They have to retrieve those memories from the summer of 1989, and that’s how we jump back to 1989.” Heartbreaker: Screenwriter Daubman says to bring your tissues. “The ending I think will satisfy the audience and maybe break their hearts a little bit,” he told Slash Film in September 2018. Note: This story was first published in August 2018 and is regularly updated. Source link

[bestmovies0]

Space capes, a royal wedding, and 25 other pop culture things to look forward to in 2018

Sense8, Avengers: Infinity War, Veep, and 24 more things to look forward to in 2018

Image: Mashable Composite/ Netflix/ Disney/ HBO

At the end of 2016, we naively hoped 2017 would be better. Instead, 2017 turned out to be so bad that we’re basically dreading 2018. Because if there’s one thing we learned this year, it’s that no matter how nasty things get, they can still get worse.

And yet.

SEE ALSO: 10 TV presents we can’t wait to see in 2018

The other big lesson we got this year was that even at the worst of days, there’s always gonna be stuff to adoration, and still more stuff to look forward to caring.

So, sure, 2018 is likely gonna suck. But it won’t be all bad, and we know that because there are at least 27 things we expect to be freakin’ awesome over the next 12 months.

In no particular order TAGEND

1. Cap’s beard in Avengers: Infinity War

Yes, we already got a glimpse of it in the trailer. But imagine how much better it’ll look in action: ruffle as Cap flies through the air to punch a bad guy, rustling as Cap strokes it thoughtfully, standing stiffly at attention while Cap delivers an inspirational speech. Honestly, Cap’s beard might already be our new favorite Avenger.

2. Rihanna hosting the Met Gala

Just weeks before “shes trying to” pull off a robbery at the Met Gala in Ocean’s 8 !

3. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s press tour for Mary Poppins Returns

See a delightful new image from the upcoming #MaryPoppinsReturns: https :// t.co/ bT7ErH7iF1 pic.twitter.com/ aRo8IHaSKm

— Oh My Disney (@ OhMyDisney) December 28, 2017

The Hamilton mastermind is one of of the most likable celebrities we have right now, and no one is better than Disney at deploying starring charisma.

4. Find out what the hell the next Cloverfield movie is about

We have no earthly notion what’s going on with this film, formerly titled God Particle , but that’s part of the fun.

5. Eating all our moods in Donut County

If 2017 made you want to take everything in the whole world and hurl it in a big hole, Donut County is here to realize that dream. You play as a pit, and as you swallow more and more things, the hole grows and changes to help you ingest absolutely everything. Perfect.- Kellen Beck

6. Westworld ‘s Samurai World

Remember when Westworld Season 1 ended in 2016, and we mourned because 2018 felt so far away? Well, it’s virtually here now- and with any luck, the new running of episodes should take us into some new corners of the universe, including Samurai World.

7. Eleanor and Chidi’s romance( probably) in The Good Place

It seems inevitable that these two will be back in each other’s arms, even if the hows and whys aren’t quite clear.

8. Beyonce at Coachella

Even those of us who can’t afford tickets will be scouring the web for clips and pics from this momentous occasion. And since Eminem will be there too, dare we hope for a live performance of “Walk on Water”?

9. Paddington’s stay in prison

Do you think they’ll let us bring marmalade sandwiches into the visitor room?

10. The What We Do in the Shadows em> spinoff

If you haven’t realized Taika Waititi’s laugh-out-loud funny vampire mockumentary yet, do that- and then keep your eyes peeled for news on Wellington Paranormal , a Tv spinoff about the oblivious cops.

11. Chance the Rapper becoming Chance the Actor

That SNL hosting gig was no fluke- Opportunity the Rapper is ready to show off his chops as relevant actors. His first feature film performance will be in Slice , an indie fright flick about the murder of a pizza delivery guy. It’s from A24, so you know it’ll be idiosyncratic and likely brilliant.

12. Something something Winter Olympics

We never truly plan to watch the Winter Olympics. It merely kind of happens, and then we find ourselves getting behavior more invested than we expected, and by the end of it all we’re armchair experts in a bunch of athletics we never knew we ever desired.( Ditto the World Cup .)

13. Henry Cavill’s Mission: Impossible 6 mustache

Aside from my fashionable nipple attachments this didn’t feel so bad. Becomes out that behind me is a 1980 ft virtually sheer drop. I say “turns out” but my adrenaline was highly aware of it at the time! Seriously though, I am so appreciative of all the unbelievable places that this movie has taken me and all of the wild and wonderful things that it has asked me to do. #MI6 #MoustacheImpossible #Norway

A post shared by Henry Cavill (@ henrycavill) on Nov 9, 2017 at 3:09 am PST

This contractually obligated mustache is the reason Henry Cavill’s upper lip seemed so funny through much of Justice League . Time to find out if it was worth it.

14. Trans talents get the spotlight in Pose

Everyone in Hollywood love paying lip service to LGBTQ inclusion; far fewer people in Hollywood are actually doing something about it. Ryan Murphy is one of those few. With over 50 LGBTQ characters- including, according to FX, “the most trans series regulars ever” on American TV- and trans writers and administrators behind the camera, Pose is a show that actually walks the walk.

15. Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding

Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle, December 2017. pic.twitter.com/ HrAc9FeN 51

— Kensington Palace (@ KensingtonRoyal) December 21, 2017

A few weeks after the due date for Will and Kate’s third child. It’s a big year for the Windsors!

Speaking of which …

16. Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown

Alas, Claire Foy’s time as Queen Elizabeth II has come to an end. But we expect Olivia Colman will do a brilliant job of stepping into her sensible, low-heeled pumps in Season 3.( Presuming The Crown Season 3 actually arrives in 2018, that is- Netflix has yet to announce a release date .)

17. Jonah Ryan’s presidential campaign in Veep

Should Jonah Ryan actually win the White House, Veep ‘s reality might ultimately become as darknes and depressing as ours.

18. The liberate of Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

This film’s famously troubled 20 -year development process is itself the stuff of legend( and the subject of a 2002 documentary ). Which is why it blows our heads to recognize we are able to actually get to see it next year. No, seriously- Gilliam’s ultimately finished killing it and everything.

19. Sense8 getting the finale it deserves

Netflix cancelled the sci-fi drama in June 2017, but the subsequent outpouring of heartbreak and adoration was so overwhelming that they were inspired to greenlight a two-hour finale episode. Savor it, sensates – you’ve earned it.

20. Jessica Jones get a new jacket in Season 2

We enjoyed the leather jacket, but it’s about time our favorite don’t-say-superhero expanded her wardrobe.

21. The first girl Doctor

Peter Capaldi will be affectionately missed, but we cannot wait to see what Jodie Whittaker will do as the 13 th Doctor- and the first one in a female body.

22. Mahershala Ali and Carmen Ejogo in True Detective Season 3

Sure, True Detective has had its ups and downs. But if Ali and Ejogo are in, so are we.

23. The long-awaited return of Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts II came out more than 12 years ago, and as the years dragged on the possibility of setting up the series turning into a trilogy seemed less and less likely. But Kingdom Hearts III is actually, ultimately coming in 2018 with all of the Disney and Final Fantasy characters we’ve come to desire. And now that Disney owns half of the amusement world, maybe we’ll get to run into some new characters in the series, like the Avengers or some porgs.- Kellen Beck

24. Joe Cornish’s next movie

If you watched Attack the Block ( starring future stormtrooper John Boyega and future Doctor Jodie Whittaker ), you know exactly why we’re eager to read director Joe Cornish’s sophomore try, The Kid Who Would Be King .

25. Regina George’s Broadway debut

It’s time to see Mean Girls in a whole new light- by which we mean stage lighting, since the musical adaptation hits the Great White Way this year.

26. Lando Calrissian’s space capes in Solo: A Star Wars Story

can you guess whose wardrobe this is? #UntitledHanSoloMovie pic.twitter.com/ 1gB17Rt1vN

— Ron Howard (@ RealRonHoward) July 11, 2017

Donald Glover is one of those dudes who can pull off a brown velvet tux and make it appear easy. Lando Calrissian is one of those dudes who has an entire closet full of sweet space capes just waiting to be worn. This casting could not be more perfect.

27. Jason Statham combating a prehistoric shark in The Meg

Sometimes you simply want to watch a movie about a ridiculously muscular humankind fighting a ridiculously giant animal.( See also: Dwayne Johnson’s Rampage .)

WATCH: Apparently, this is the coloring you will see everywhere in 2018

Read more: http :// mashable.com/ 2017/12/ 30/ pop-culture-2 018 /

from https://bestmovies.fun/2018/01/03/space-capes-a-royal-wedding-and-25-other-pop-culture-things-to-look-forward-to-in-2018/